The Megaspeed Car and Truck Show

The Megaspeed Car and Truck Show was held for the first time in March 2012 in Toronto and was a huge success. Because the Road Tour from Kalamazoo to Burlington was taking us across Canada, the folks at Megaspeed decided they would like to sponsor one leg of the tour. The Megaspeed Tour is also the final leg of the Steele Rubber Products Triple Crown Challenge.

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After the Sunday awards at the NSRA Nationals North Plus, the 17 cars that were signed up for the Megaspeed Tour rolled out of the fairgrounds. Our destination was the NSRA Northeast Nationals Plus in Burlington, Vermont. Sunday evening we headed to the Canadian town of Sarnia just across the border from Port Huron, Michigan. After some routine questions at the border we crossed into Canada.

Our first stop on Monday was at Hitman Hotrods in Cambridge, Ontario. Hitman won the Megaspeed Grand Champion Award for 2012 with an unbelievable '27 T sedan. We got to see the beautiful '37 Cabriolet that won the Best in Show award at the 2012 Megaspeed Show. Silver Elvis even showed up to say, "Thank you, thank you very much."

Next stop was Lucky 7 Enterprises. Their suspension components and unique dropped axles are available through dealers worldwide. We were greeted by owner Joe Leone and hamburgers and sausage were on the grill when we pulled in. It was a great lunch stop at Lucky 7 Enterprises.

By 3 p.m. we were checked into our hotel in Oshawa. By 5 p.m. Gary Chalis and fellow members of the Motor City Car Club arrived to welcome us. The Motor City Car Club has greeted the Road Tour many times over the past seven years and it is always a treat. Monday evening they had arranged for us to be special guests at Shake, Rabble, Roll in nearby Whitby. This '50s-themed diner hosts two cruises each week during the summer. Some of the Motor City Car Club came back to the hotel for some parking lot fun after the show. Many thanks to the Motor City Car Club for once again making our visit to Oshawa memorable.

6/23As we left the Hitman shop we were greeted in the parking lot by "Silver Elvis". Local entertainer Peter Jarvis serenaded us with classic Elvis tunes and then posed by all of the Road Tour vehicles.

On Tuesday morning Gary Chalis and some members of the Motor City Car Club came to give us a send-off and also give each driver a hat and mug from their annual August car show.

We set out in a hard rain with our sights set on the town of Lindsay, Ontario. Kevin Easton had invited us to stop by for a look at his Mopar collection. We were greeted by Kevin and his shop manager Brad Fallis and they walked us through the collection and we were amazed by the amount of Mopar Muscle in one building. Hemis were everywhere and there were a few very nice Ford street rods and Tri-Five Chevys mixed in to keep the other guys happy. Armed with cookies and coffee we enjoyed hearing the details of each of the treasures from Kevin and Brad. It was a great morning and it looked like the skies were brightening.

10/23After a one-hour drive north from Oshawa we were greeted at Easton Classic Cars in Lindsay, Ontario, by owner Kevin Easton (left) and shop manager Brad Fallis. We had heard about Kevin's Mopar collection but had no idea what was in store for us when we arrived.

Our next stop was about 90 minutes away in the town of Warsaw. We were headed to the shop of a custom car icon Harry Sherry. Harry was responsible for the blown '34 Ford and the immaculate '55 Chevy that we had seen at Kevin Easton's shop. Those are just two of thousands of cars to come out of Sherry Custom Auto over the past 50-plus years.

Harry had put together a slide show and gave us some background on the cars that were pictured. It was a great glimpse into a career that has lasted over a half century. Bill Sherry does the upholstery work and his custom Pontiac was on display. One current project is a Marmon that is being built as a vehicle for Harry himself. It was a wonderful afternoon at Sherry Custom Autos in Warsaw. We were in the presence of a true master and delighted that Harry would take the time to greet us as he did. We will be back to see that finished Marmon project. We arrived in Gananoque near the 1,000 Island area by 6 p.m. The sun was shining and it had been an incredible day on the Megaspeed Tour.

By Wednesday morning the rains had passed through and it was a cool and sunny morning. Thanks to the efforts of the Motor City Car Club who worked all day on Tuesday to solve problems experienced by one of the Road Tourians, everyone had made it to Gananoque at the Canada/U.S. border. While we enjoyed our time in Canada it was a good feeling to be crossing the bridge and knowing that you were back home.

Our first stop was the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, just 10 minutes from the border. Even the non-boaters in our group could appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of the watercraft on display. It was a great way to start the day on the Megaspeed Tour.

It was a short 45-minute drive to Fort Drum, the huge Army base near Watertown, New York. About two years ago at the Syracuse Nationals I had been approached by Dale Greening. Dale is a civilian helicopter mechanic at Fort Drum. Dale invited me to bring a Road Tour to the base to visit the troops and see the equipment that was being used in Afghanistan. Dale explained that the helicopters from Fort Drum would be returning soon and he felt that the troops and their families would enjoy seeing our cars. He also felt that we would appreciate a close-up look at equipment that was being used by our soldiers half way around the world. From that conversation two years ago and Dale Greening's hard work and persistence we were now on our way to Fort Drum for an amazing afternoon.

Our first stop was the Heritage Center on the base. From there we drove to the actual airfield where the Chinook, Apache, Black Hawk, and Kiowa helicopters are based. It was an amazing sight as we were greeted by the troops along the runways while we drove by these incredible pieces of sophisticated equipment. We were led into an open hanger and parked our cars. It was a scene and a moment that will be a lasting memory for all of us. The troops were anxious to see our cars and we could not believe we were actually so close to the helicopters and the men and women who fly and maintain them. Cameras were out all afternoon as we took pictures of the activities going on all around. Some of the Road Tourians got a chance to get into the flight simulators where the pilots train. It was a breathtaking afternoon. Many thanks to Dale Greening who had the vision and to the folks on the base who helped make this all happen. We attended a local cruise in our honor Wednesday evening to top off an incredible day.

14/23The soldiers were excited to have us visit the base and enjoyed seeing our vehicles. All the Road Tourians were honored to meet the men and women who serve our country so courageously. It was a wonderful afternoon at Fort Drum and definitely a high point of the Megaspeed Road Tour.

Thursday morning it was time to get to our weekend destination of Burlington, Vermont, for the NSRA Northeast Nationals Plus. The route took us through Lake Placid, New York, the site of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. Upon reaching the Vermont border and the banks of the southern part of Lake Champlain we boarded a ferry for the short 20-minute boat ride. We reached Burlington by mid afternoon. It had been a gorgeous drive.

Our journey was complete but the fun of a weekend at the NSRA Northeast Nationals Plus was ahead as we spent the weekend at the Champlain Valley Expo Center.

18/23When we arrived at the Vermont border we loaded our vehicles on a ferry for the short ride across the lower portion of Lake Champlain. The boat ride was the culmination of a beautiful week of driving on the Megaspeed Road Tour.

It was a great weekend at the NSRA Northeast Street Rod Nationals Plus. There were over 1,400 registered vehicles and plenty of spectators all weekend to enjoy them. Saturday evening the participants on the Steele Rubber Products Triple Crown Challenge got together for a final meal as a group. Six vehicles with eleven participants completed the three back-to-back-to-back Road Tours. NSRA awards were announced at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Three of our Road Tourians were singled out for special recognition. This makes the seventh tour in the books for the 2012 season. Go to streetrodder.com for extended coverage of the Megaspeed Road Tour and a schedule and registration form for the upcoming 2013 Road Tour season.

19/23The NSRA Northeast Street Rod Nationals Plus kicked off on Friday morning at the Champlain Valley Exposition Center just north of Burlington in Essex Junction, VT. This event draws a large group of street rodders from the New England area each September.

23/23The awards ceremonies for the NSRA Northeast Nationals Plus took place on Sunday afternoon in front of the grandstands. A number of Road Tourians from the Megaspeed Tour were given special recognition during the festivities. It was a great wrap-up to an amazing week.